"We think the economy will turn (for the worse) in the third quarter, and if that happens, we'll see a significant slowdown in IT spending in the fourth quarter and then the first and second quarters," said Andrew Bartels, a research analyst with Forrester Research.

Forrester anticipates IT spending will improve in the second half of next year, as the current credit crunch improves, cost of energy and oil come down, and the benefits of lower interest rates begin to take hold.

And because IT spending, despite the downturn, is expected to continue growing, spending on everything from mobile to software-oriented architecture technologies is expected to accelerate rapidly once CIOs feel more confident in the economy, Bartels noted.

Added Bartels: "As soon as the economic climate gets better, CIOs will go out and get this stuff."